THE TRAP, & ESCAPE OF SHIBAJI
THE BATTLE OF PAVAN KHIND (SACRED
PASS)
BAJIPRABHU
DESHPANDE—THE LONE HERO
(HISTORY
KILLED BY LEFT KABALS AND MOULANA)
SARASIJ
MAJUMDER
The year was 1660.
The leader of the Maratha rebellion, Chattrapati Shivaji
Maharaj, was trapped in Fort Panhala. His escape blocked by a monstrous Adil
Shahi army, commanded by the Abyssinian General Siddi Masud.
Food was running low, and the daily cannon fire made the
walls weaker by the hour. It was clear to everyone that unless an escape was
made, the nascent Maratha Kingdom would be extinguished. Escape appeared to be
impossible but necessary.
The fate of Hindavi Swarajya, hung in balance.
A daring plan was made.
Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj planned to escape to the nearby
fort of Vishal Gadh, which was administered by a Maratha chieftain named Range
Narayan Orpe. He was under allegiance to the Adilshahis, but had come to a
clandestine arrangement to switch sides and join Chhatrapati Shivaji
at an opportune moment. There was also a Moghul garrison stationed at Vishal
Gadh which Chhatrapati Shivaji would have to engage in order to
achieve his aims. 600 troops would accompany the young king on this risky
journey and ensure the safety of both, the King and the Future of Bharatvarsha.
A volunteer, named Shiva Kashid, who resembled the King,
would act as bait and willingly risk his life to buy Shivaji Maharaj time.
Intending to not let his sacrifice go to waste, Shivaji Maharaj, his commander
Baji Prabhu and around 600 of their best troops, hardened mountaineers of the
Maval region, dashed through the Adil Shahi forces, on the night of July 13,
1660.
Unfortunately, Siddi Masud soon realized that the man they
had captured was not Chhatrapati Shivaji, and that he was escaping.
Immediately, the 10,000 man strong Adil Shahi army mobilised and gave chase to
the 600.
And thus began The Battle of Pavan Khind (Sacred Pass).
It was clear that there was no way to shake off the enemy,
and that the Marathas would not simultaneously prevail over both the Moghul
garrison at Vishal Gadh and the chasing Adil Shahi army.
The only option was for a section of the Marathas to stay
back and fight the larger Adil Shahi forces in a rearguard action, while the
rest of the Marathas would carry on to their destination. Shivaji decided that
this was inevitable choice and split his forces in two. Only 300 men will
stay to fight and stop 10,000 men Army.
Siddi Masud saw this.
He intended to crush the three hundred men defending this
position. He sent his elite troops forward, expecting an easy victory.
Unfortunately for him and his troops, the mountain pass was
narrow, and was guarded by the commander himself. Baji Prabhu Deshpande.
With two swords in his hand. Baji Prabhu stood alone against
a force of more than 10,000. His soldiers on the hills above, waiting with
slings and bows, ready to rain fire and fury upon the enemy below.
The first few soldiers who arrived, must have found it hard
to believe that the only thing stopping them from going after Shivaji Maharaj
was one man. Yet as they approached Baji, they were cut down where they stood.
The dual sword wielding Baji Prabhu would not go down so easily. It was going
to take a lot more than that.
And so, he fought, a man possessed, cutting down the hordes
of Siddi, without a care for his injuries. For over 18 hours, he successfully
held off the Adil Shahi forces, killing all those who challenged him.
He stood a man undaunted, undeterred, unwilling to let even
a man pass him. Waiting for the signal that his king had reached safety.
Waiting to kill anyone who dared to attack him. His troops, with slings in
hand, their aim true, shot with precision, killing in dozens, raining hellfire
upon the Adilshahis.
Siddi realised he was fighting someone dangerous, someone he
could not be beat in hand to hand combat.
So, he sent forward his archers.
Volley after volley of arrows hit him, yet he stood strong. Baji
Prabhu, true to his Maratha nature, refused to give up. He still stood proud,
swords in hand, waiting for the signal.
The Adil Shahi hordes came once again, hoping this beast of
a man was weakened enough to be killed. Yet, just like their comrades before
them, they were slaughtered in an instant. Still, The Maratha Veer could not be
tamed.
His soul, his fighting spirit may have been immortal but his
body was mortal flesh. The wounds had taken their toll on him and Baji Prabhu
had grown weak. Still, he stood, and stood, waiting for the signal.
And then, it came.
A thunderous volley of cannon fires ripped through the night
sky. It sounds audible for miles. The signal that the King of the Marathas had
reached Vishal Gad, and safe.
Shivaji Maharaj’s plan was successful. Having made his way
to Vishal Gadh, Range Narayan Orpe switched sides and the combined Maratha
forces easily surprised and routed the ill-prepared Moghul garrison stationed
there.
Baji Prabhu had successfully fought the rearguard action and
slowed the Adilshahis forces. He had proved his worth in GOLD. He succumbed to
his injuries, with a glowing smile on his face. Knowing that he had saved the
idea of Hindavi Swaraj, he passed from this life, into the next.
The defence of the pass of PAVAN/ Ghod Khind by about 300
Marathas led by the Baji Prabhu Deshpande was renamed “The Battle of Pavan
Khind” which in Marathi means “The Battle of the Sacred Pass”
An estimated 1300 soldiers, 1/10th of the Adil Shahi
army, had fallen to the sword of Baji Prabhu, and his men.
It was his sacrifice on that auspicious day of July 13, his
18 hours of pain and valour, that saved the Maratha Kingdom. It was his
sacrifice that day, which saved not only the Maratha Kingdom and the Marathi
people, but also the idea of Hindavi Swaraj, and our ancient religion from
being destroyed.
And even today, more than four hundred years after his
sacrifice for the future of Bharatvarsha, he is remembered and revered across
the country, and especially Maharashtra, where ballads of his bravery are sung
to this very day. His last stand, inspiring patriots to follow in his
footsteps, to live and fight, for their motherland.
Poet Bhushan, who was a contemporary of Shivaji wrote:
Kasihki
Kala Gayee, Mathura Masid Bhaee;
Gar
Shivaji Na Hoto, To Sunati Hot Sabaki!
TRANSLATION
[Kashi
has lost its splendour, Mathura has become a mosque; If Shivaji had not been,
All would have been circumcised (converted)].
Many years
before this, a SPARTAN KING, fought, and sacrificed himself at the mountain
pass of Thermopylae ,
under similar conditions—Greek poets
made him immortal by composing BALLADS on him, and the battle.
HISTORY WRITTEN
BY NEHRU’S PAID HISTORIANS FORGOT BAJI PRABHU DESHPANDE.
MY SALUTE
TO THE MARATHA HERO. JAI HIND.
SOURCE:
1.0 https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/shivaji-baji-prabhu-the-battle-of-pavan-khind/
2.0 https://history-is-mystery.com/battle-of-pawankhind-300-vs-10000/
3.0 https://dharmayudh.com/300-marathas-vs-10000-enemies-bajiprabhu-deshpande-and-the-battle-of-pavan-khind-the-forgotten-heroic-last-stand-to-save-chatrapati-shivaji-maharaj/
IMAGES:
Statue of Baji Prabhu in Panhala Fort, and GOOGLE/WEB
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